By Jerry Muchimba
The year 2022 marked 60 years of the Zambian football league. The story of football in Zambia goes back about a hundred years when it was introduced in Northern Rhodesia in the early 1920s, after spreading from South Africa where it was played from as early as the mid-19th century. It is believed that soldiers, traders, sailors and missionaries brought football to that part of the world. In Northern Rhodesia, officials and employees of the British South African Company (BSAC) were the first people to play the game. The Europeans also played rugby, cricket, tennis and many other games but did not involve the locals and played amongst themselves.
As was the order of the day, Africans and Europeans did not mix in social and other activities. Although not directly involved, the locals observed the settlers playing football in their communities and also started playing using home-made footballs.
The competitive and organised form of football in Northern Rhodesia was started by the formation of the Broken Hill Amateur Football Association (BHAFA) in 1922 by William Nelson Watson, who worked for Broken Hill Mine as Assistant Manager. Broken Hill town (now called Kabwe) was the first region to have competitive and organised football clubs in the territory, which included teams like Broken Hill Callies, Broken Hill Corinthians, Broken Hill Thistle and Broken Hill Railways. Following the formation of the BHAFA, other independent football associations emerged.
Competitive football among Africans started getting organised separately, with the Copperbelt becoming the most organised, as it was the most industrialised and urbanised province in Northern Rhodesia due to the abundance of copper deposits.
The earliest form of organised football that emerged among Africans especially on the Copperbelt, was through tribal teams formed by locals who came to work in the towns from different provinces. They formed their own leagues and rebels emerged in the all-white associations who wanted to encourage multi-racial soccer, and they started this by organising fund-raising matches between Africans and Europeans.
The emergence of the ill-fated Rhodesian and Nyasaland Football League in April 1961 heralded the mushrooming of racially integrated teams throughout the territory, though it was beset by financial and logistical challenges as participating teams had to travel between three countries, and the crowds were not large enough to cover the costs so the league collapsed after a few games.
However, football administrators continued pressing for a national league and their efforts culminated in the formation of the National Football League, which was officially launched in early 1962 as the Northern Rhodesia National Football League.
It was later that year at the FIFA congress in July that Northern Rhodesia was provisionally accepted as a member of the world soccer governing body, pending the granting of full membership at the next meeting in Tokyo in 1964.
The national league became one of the five associations affiliated to the Northern Rhodesia FA, the other four being the Rhodesia-Congo Border Football Association (conducting European soccer on the Copperbelt), the Copperbelt African Football Association, the Livingstone and District Football Association and the Midlands Football Association.
In the league’s first year, each district was allowed to enter a maximum of two teams. In some cases, existing teams entered their own team but some put aside their differences and combined to sponsor a completely new, non-racial club.
- Roan F.C. (all European) and Roan African FC merged to form Roan United
- Nchanga Sports was formed from the merger of Nchanga F.C. and Nchanga Callies
- Mufulira F.C. and Mufulira athletics club combined to form Mufulira United
It was first thought that there would be a merger between Mufulira Wanderers and Mufulira Blackpool but Blackpool retained their identity and missed out. Also rejected were the applications of Kitwe Sports and Hellenic F.C.
The 13 teams that were formally accepted and registered at the first annual meeting of the Northern Rhodesia national football league in Ndola on 4th February were:
- Bancroft North End
- Broken Hill Warriors
- City of Lusaka
- Kitwe United
- Lusaka Queens Park
- Mufulira United
- Mufulira Wanderers
- Nchanga Rangers
- Nchanga Sports
- Ndola F.C.
- Ndola United
- Roan United
- Rhokana United
It was agreed that the matches would be played on Sunday afternoon and Mr. Thomas Mtine was elected chairman in place of Mr. Ronnie Patterson who returned to South Africa. Vice Chairman was Mr. Bennie Evans of Luanshya.
The meeting accepted the draft constitution in principal and agreed that all members would deposit £100 in cash with the league. The £100 was a guarantee against failing to fulfil the fixtures and was in addition to the £31 10s required as combined affiliation and annual subscription fees.
The guarantees were to be invested and the interest earned to be shared between clubs in good standing at the end of the season.
Although professionalism was not obligatory for players in the league, most turned professional. Players could be paid a signing-on fee of up to £10, and a wage of a minimum of £1 and £2 per game. They could also receive an appearance fee of £1, plus a bonus of 10s for a draw and £1 for a win.
The first ever league championship kicked off a month later on 4th March 1962 and of the 13 teams Ndola FC, Nchanga Sports and Mufulira United were all white and the rest were of mixed race.
Nchanga Rangers set the pace with a 5-0 win over Ndola FC while Mufulira Wanderers also made short work of Kitwe United 5-1. Rhokana United, Bancroft North End Roan United also recorded victories while City of Lusaka drew 4-4 with Broken Hill Warriors. Due to the odd number of teams, Nchanga Sports were on bye.
City had acquired the services of former English international Jackie Sewell and he was one of the star performers. The biggest winning margin was 9-1 when Kitwe United thrashed Ndola FC on 3 June and Mufulira Wanderers’ 8-0 thrashing of Nchanga Rangers in October.
Roan United, boasting the talents of former Portuguese international Tony Castela as player-coach, and Ginger Pensulo, were the most consistent and soon took leadership of the table. On 21st October, they faced second placed City of Lusaka in a potential title-deciding match and carried the day 3-1 thanks to a brace from Dyson Mugala and a goal by Pensulo.
At the end of the season, Roan were crowned champions after edging out City of Lusaka.
Mufulira United’s Ron Jervis was top scorer with 45 league goals.
There were three cup competitions – the Challenge Cup, the Heinrich Cup and the richest trophy, the Castle Cup. City won the Challenge Cup when they beat Copperbelt FA team Roan Antelope while Bancroft North End (now called Konkola Blades) lifted the Heinrich Cup and Roan United were victorious in the Castle Cup final.
Challenge Cup Final (26.08.62), at Roan
City of Lusaka 5 (Ellis 8’, 15’; Bwalya 11’, 80’; Sharpe 18’)
Roan Antelope 1 (Abraham 30’)
Heinrich Cup Final (07.10.62) at Scrivener Stadium
Bancroft North End 2 (Kingston [2])
Roan United 1 (Mugala)
Castle Cup Final (14.10.62) AET, at Scrivener Stadium
Roan United 4 (Castella, Dyson, Pensulo, Heylen,)
Nchanga Sports 3 (Blair, Ginger Stevenson, Campbell)
As winners of the Northern Rhodesia Castle Cup, Roan earned the right to contest the Super Castle Cup final against Bulawayo Rovers of Southern Rhodesia
Super Castle Cup Final (28.10.62) at Raylton Ground, Salisbury
Bulawayo Rovers 1 (McKie)
Roan United 0
It has been an interesting journey over the course of 60 years:
- To date, their success in the first season remains Roan’s only league title
- The 1963 season saw the withdrawal of three clubs – Mufulira United, Ndola FC and Nchanga Sports who all chose to retain their ‘European only’ status and re-join the Rhodesia Congo Border Football Association. Mufulira Blackpool were accepted into the league. Lusaka Queens Park withdrew halfway through the season having lost all their games, so the remaining clubs each played an odd number of league games – 19
- The scoring record was set by Mufulira Blackpool when they beat Lusaka Queens Park 15-2 on 12 April 1963 with Chileshe Mumbi scoring 8 goals
- By the end of the 1963 season, Roan United were deposed as champions by Mufulira Wanderers.
- City of Lusaka emerged as champions in 1964. That also remains their only title success.
- A second division was introduced in 1966 with the two top teams replacing the two lowest teams in the top league the following season. The Charity Shield was also introduced in 1967
- Wanderers were the first club to win three consecutive championships in 1965-1967. This feat, which is called a three-peat, has only been achieved by four other clubs: Kabwe Warriors (1970-1972), Green Buffaloes (1973-1975), Nkana FC (1988-1990) and ZESCO United (2017-2019)
- Mufulira Wanderers are the only club in Zambian league history to score 100 league goals in a single season, which they achieved in the 1967 season
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- In 1972, Kabwe Warriors swept all the silverware on offer when they won the league and 4 trophies. It was the same season in which Godfrey Chitalu scored 107 goals, 49 of which were in the league. Chitalu’s total for the year was actually 116 goals but 9 strikes which he scored in the Africa Cup of Champions Clubs first round in January and February were deemed to have been scored before the league started and were not considered
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- Zambia Army (Green Buffaloes), who only joined the second division in 1971 and immediately got promoted to the top league, played their first season in 1972 and defied the odds when they won the league the following season, ahead of more established sides. They went one better in 1974 when they retained the league without losing a single game. From 26 game, they won 19 and drew 7 for 73% win percentage. This was repeated by Nkana Red Devils (formerly known as Rhokana United and later simply as Nkana FC) in 1982 though they only had a win percentage of 55%, winning 12 out of 22 games and drawing 10.
- Buffaloes also set the longest unbeaten run of 44 games which stretched almost two years, from 23 June 1973 when they lost 2-3 to Lusaka Tigers, to 6 April 1975 when the run was ended by a 1-0 defeat to Mufulira Blackpool
- Zanaco (2005 & 2012) and ZESCO United (2008) hold the record for fewest goals conceded – 14
- In 1982, the Super League was introduced and Nkana won their first title without losing a game. It signalled the beginning of their dominance of Zambian league football. They would go on to win 7 titles in 9 years and 13 overall to set a record for most titles
- 3 points for a win was introduced in 1988 and Kenneth ‘Bubble’ Malitoli dominated the scoring charts, winning three in a row (1989-1991) and declaring that the award had become ‘personal to holder’
- In 1993, the league got a sponsor in Finance Bank. It was the same season in which Nkana FC won all the trophies on offer including the FAZ Cup. The league is currently being sponsored by MTN
- In 1995, a top scorer’s award was introduced for goals scored in the league. Dennis Lota of Konkola Blades was overall top scorer with 23 but he was outscored in the league by City of Lusaka’s Aaron Lubunda who shook the net 18 times
- In 2019, there was a transitional season as the FAZ adhered to CAF’s proposal to adjust the African football calendar and align to other leagues that run their leagues from August to May of the following year. Zesco United and Green Eagles won their respective streams and faced each other in a play-off to determine who would be crowned champions. Zesco emerged victorious after winning 3-1 on penalties
- The 2019/20 season was disrupted by Covid-19 and the FAZ decided to end the season prematurely after 27 games. Nkana FC, who were on top of the table at the time were declared champions
- Red Arrows are the current champions after winning their second league title in the 2021/2022 season
| ZAMBIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE: LIST OF CHAMPIONS | |||
| 1962 | Roan United | 1993 | Nkana FC |
| 1963 | Mufulira Wanderers | 1994 | Power Dynamos |
| 1964 | City of Lusaka | 1995 | Mufulira Wanderers |
| 1965 | Mufulira Wanderers | 1996 | Mufulira Wanderers |
| 1966 | Mufulira Wanderers | 1997 | Power Dynamos |
| 1967 | Mufulira Wanderers | 1998 | Nchanga Rangers |
| 1968 | Kabwe Warriors | 1999 | Nkana FC |
| 1969 | Mufulira Wanderers | 2000 | Power Dynamos |
| 1970 | Kabwe Warriors | 2001 | Nkana FC |
| 1971 | Kabwe Warriors | 2002 | Zanaco |
| 1972 | Kabwe Warriors | 2003 | Zanaco |
| 1973 | Zambia Army | 2004 | Red Arrows |
| 1974 | Zambia Army | 2005 | Zanaco |
| 1975 | Green Buffaloes | 2006 | Zanaco |
| 1976 | Mufulira Wanderers | 2007 | Zesco United |
| 1977 | Green Buffaloes | 2008 | Zesco United |
| 1978 | Mufulira Wanderers | 2009 | Zanaco |
| 1979 | Green Buffaloes | 2010 | Zesco United |
| 1980 | Nchanga Rangers | 2011 | Power Dynamos |
| 1981 | Green Buffaloes | 2012 | Zanaco |
| 1982 | Nkana Red Devils | 2013 | Nkana |
| 1983 | Nkana Red Devils | 2014 | Zesco United |
| 1984 | Power Dynamos | 2015 | Zesco United |
| 1985 | Nkana Red Devils | 2016 | Zanaco |
| 1986 | Nkana Red Devils | 2017 | Zesco United |
| 1987 | Kabwe Warriors | 2018 | Zesco United |
| 1988 | Nkana Red Devils | 2019 | Zesco United |
| 1989 | Nkana Red Devils | 2019/20 | Nkana FC |
| 1990 | Nkana Red Devils | 2020/21 | Zesco United |
| 1991 | Power Dynamos | 2021/22 | Red Arrows |
| 1992 | Nkana Red Devils |
| ZAMBIAN NFL League Records | |
| First champions | Roan United (1962) |
| Inaugural top scorer | Ron Jervis (Mufulira United): 45 (1962) |
| Highest winning margin | Mufulira Blackpool 15 – Lusaka Queens Park 2 (12.04.1963) |
| Most goals in a single match | Chileshe Mumbi (8): Mufulira Blackpool 15 – Lusaka Queens Park 2 (12.04.63) |
| Most league goals by a club in a season | 100: Mufulira Wanderers: (1967) |
| Highest goal difference | 57: Kabwe Warriors (1968) |
| Most league goals conceded in a single season | 126: Kalulushi Modern Stars (1968) |
| Worst goal difference | -89: Kalulushi Modern Stars (1968) |
| Inaugural Footballer of the Year award winner | Godfrey Chitalu (1968) |
| Inaugural top scorer award winner | Godfrey Chitalu (1968) – 81 goals overall |
| Most league goals by a player in a season | 49: Godfrey Chitalu (1972) |
| Record number of goals (all competitions) | 107: Godfrey Chitalu (1972)* |
| Most number of Footballer of the Year awards | 5: Godfrey Chitalu (1968, 1970, 1972, 1978 & 1979) |
| 3 league titles in a row | Mufulira Wanderers (1965-1967)Kabwe Warriors (1970-1972)Green Buffaloes (1973-1975)Nkana (1988-1990)Zesco United (2017-2019) |
| Least goals conceded in a season | 10 – Green Eagles (2019) **14 – Zanaco (2005, 2012) & ZESCO United (2008) |
| Highest number of points | 80: ZESCO United (2018) [38 game season] |
| Lowest number of points | 2: Ndola FC (1962) (2 points for a win) |
| Lowest number of wins in a season | 0: Mufulira Blackpool (2016) |
| Highest win percentage | 77%: Mufulira Wanderers 1967 (20 out of 26 games) |
| Biggest goal difference | 57: Kabwe Warriors (1968) (26 game season) |
| Most league titles | 13: Nkana FC (1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1999, 2001, 2013, 2020) |
| Most trophies | 49: Mufulira WanderersLeague Championship: 9(1963, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1976, 1978, 1995, 1996)Castle Cup/Independence Cup/Mosi Cup): 9(1965, 1966, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1988, 1995)Challenge Cup (Shell Challenge Cup/BP Challenge Cup/ BP Top Eight Cup): 10(1964, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1978, 1984, 1986, 1994, 1996, 1997)Heinrich Cup/Chibuku Cup/Heroes and Unity Cup: 7(1964, 1965, 1968, 1976, 1985, 1987, 1991)Champion of Champions Cup: 7(1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1985, 1988, 1992)Charity Shield: 6(1967, 1968, 1976, 1977, 1996, 1997)Super Castle Cup: 1(1965) |
| Most wins in a season | 14: Power Dynamos (1982) & Nkana [22 game season]20: Mufulira Wanderers (1967) [26 game season]21: Zanaco (2003 & 2006); ZESCO (2007) [30 game season]24: Zesco United (2018) [38 game season]25: Zanaco (2016) [34 game season] |
| Unbeaten in entire season | Green Buffaloes (1974) [over 26 games]Nkana FC (1982) [over 22 games] |
| Longest unbeaten run | Green Buffaloes: 44 (23.06.73 – 06.04.1975) |
| Sweeping of all silverware | Kabwe Warriors (5 trophies): 1972, Nkana (6 trophies): 1993 |
| Inaugural coach of the year award winner | Freddie Mwila (1984) |
*Chitalu’s tally for the year was actually 116 goals if the goals scored in the African Cup of Champions Clubs are included
*Green Eagles conceded 10 goals in the 2019 transitional season which was over 18 games